Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used in consumer and commercial applications. As is well known to those having skill in the art, a light emitting diode generally includes a diode region on a microelectronic substrate. A plurality of closely spaced LEDs may be manufactured on a microelectronic substrate wafer. The wafer may comprise, for example, gallium arsenide, gallium phosphide, alloys thereof, silicon carbide and/or sapphire. The wafer may be diced to separate the individual LED, or groups of LEDs, as discrete die. The discrete LED die may be passed to an automated assembly device. The assembly device may separately attach the LED die to submounts and may connect electrical leads. The mounted LED die may then be encapsulated in one or more protective layers.
The increasing use of LEDs in commercial applications, along with the need for decreased cost, has highlighted the importance of systems that may assemble discrete LED die into packaged products in an efficient and expeditious manner.